Chapter 5 Interpreting and Summarizing Published Research Introduction to Educational Research (7th ed.) Craig A. Mertler & C.M. Charles Chapter 5 Interpreting and Summarizing Published Research This ppt was adapted by Anne René Elsbree for use in EDUC 622. Use it as a resource to understand the book. This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Mertler & Charles Intro. to Ed'l. Research -- Chapter 1

Reading Research Reports Skim to quickly examine nature of study and conclusions Begin with abstracts, summaries Title and introductions Scan Findings, Conclusions, and Discussion Summarize the report; include the following: Topic Subjects Basic methods Results Complete bibliographic citation

Interpreting Statistical Information Three types of research questions/findings: Status—describes people, places, etc. as they currently exist Comparison—examines differences between two or more groups Covarying relationships—examination of relationships that will permit predictions

Interpreting Statistical Information (cont’d.) Status reports (qualitative, survey research): Often make use of raw data Utilize statistics that indicate: Typicality (mean, median, mode) Spread or diversity (range, standard deviation) Conversion or transformation (z-scores, percentile ranks, grade equivalents, etc.) Mertler & Charles Intro. to Ed'l. Research -- Chapter 5

Interpreting Statistical Information (cont’d.) Comparison reports (evaluation, causal-comparative, experimental research): Utilize statistics including: Chi-square (c2)—when data are counts or categories; used to determine if difference exists between two groups t-Test—when measures are scores; used to determine whether difference exists between two groups based on means Analysis of variance or ANOVA (F-ratio)—when measures are scores; used to determine whether differences exist between three or more groups based on variability of scores about the means

Interpreting Statistical Information (cont’d.) Correlational reports (correlational research): Utilize statistics including: Pearson correlation coefficient (r)—when measures are scores; used to determine degree of relationship between variables, ranging from - 1.00 to +1.00 Many other additional measures of correlation exist

The Concept of (Statistical) Significance Significant—whether or not a topic is worthy of investigation Significance—a.k.a., “statistical significance;” interpreted as “it is very likely that the findings we observed in the sample also exist in the population” Alpha level (a) determines the likelihood, or probability Traditional values are .05 & .01

Applying Technology… Web sites to aid in writing a literature review Purdue University Online Writing Lab (owl.english.purdue.edu/oldindex.html) Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American Psychological Association (www.apastyle.org/elecref.html) Mertler & Charles Intro. to Ed'l. Research -- Chapter 5